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FELIXSTOWE SOUTH
The expansion of the Port of Felixstowe is of great strategic importance in the European market and this development is critical to secure additional deep-water capacity for the UK market. This is a significant development for the Port of Felixstowe and marks the beginning of a new era in its evolution. Whilst the Port is already able to accommodate the largest vessels currently in service, the Felixstowe South project will enable the Port to handle more vessels simultaneously, resulting in even better facilities for its customers and securing its position as the UK’s number one container port.
Construction of the Felixstowe South project commenced in 2008. The scheme involves the conversion of the area previously used by P&O North Sea Ferries Limited, plus the largely redundant Dock Basin and Landguard Terminal, into a new deep-water container terminal. The project also includes a third rail terminal on land already reclaimed at the existing Trinity Terminal, and upgrades to the national Rail network serving the Port to increase rail capacity for the Port.
The first phase of Felixstowe South is on target to be operational in 2010, with the second phase expected to be operational by 2016. The whole scheme when complete will increase capacity at the Port by 50%. More and more of the largest container ships on the market are being delivered to our customers, and Felixstowe South will increase - by almost 200% - the capacity available at Felixstowe for the World’s largest ships to call at the UK’s number one container port.
The development will increase the quay length available for container handling by close to 1,000 metres, giving a total quay length at the newly configured Felixstowe South terminal of 1,285 metres. The new terminal will be equipped with 13 of the most modern quayside cranes and 50 yard cranes, and will provide a storage capacity of 46,800 TEUs. Together with the Port’s existing Trinity Terminal, the Port of Felixstowe will be able to provide a total of over 4 kilometres of deep-water container facilities, and total capacity at the Port will increase by 1.5 million TEUs, to 5.2 million TEUs per annum.
Dredged to 16 metres alongside, Felixstowe South will provide the deepest water available at the Port, and will enable Felixstowe to handle more of the latest generation of container vessels. In so doing, it will secure the Port’s position as a major European hub, and will ensure that UK importers and exporters enjoy the full range of direct-call liner services here in the UK.
Moreover, the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration will provide a significant boost to the economy, both locally, and in the Eastern region as a whole. Not only will the proposals help to secure the future employment of all those who currently rely on the Port for their livelihoods, but, when fully operational, the Felixstowe South development will create more than 600 direct jobs, with an additional 860 in associated industries. The Port of Felixstowe, already one of the largest employers in the UK’s Eastern region, is a major driver of the local economy and contributes more than £100 million to it each year in wages alone.
HARWICH INTERNATIONAL PORT, BATHSIDE BAY
The next significant milestone following completion of the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration in the development of the HPUK Haven Ports solution will be the development of Bathside Bay, Harwich. The Secretaries of State granted consent in 2006 for a port facility with 1,400 metres of quay, 110 hectares of land and alongside dredged depth of 15m. Serviced by 11 quay cranes, the state-of-the-art terminal will have a capacity of 2.14 million TEUs per annum with a dedicated rail facility. In addition improvements, funded by HPUK, to the road and rail infrastructure serving the new terminal will ensure excellent connectivity for our customers to the UK’s logistics network.
Harwich International Port is already heavily committed to the offshore renewables industry, providing port facilities to both the Gunfleet Sands and Greater Gabbard projects. In response to the massive expansion in the UK’s offshore renewable programme, the development of Bathside Bay as Harwich International Wind Port could provide a dedicated UK facility for the industry, capable of supporting almost every aspect of Round 3 development with the advantage of no air draught restrictions, and a protected harbour offering lock-free and unrestricted access to the North Sea.
Sustainable Development
HPUK is committed to expansion through sustainable means, and the reconfiguration of Felixstowe South will be developed in keeping with Government policy on maximising the use of existing facilities before creating new ones. Government and conservation bodies recognise that ports need to develop and expand to accommodate changes in shipping dynamics and the growth in trade. Concern does of course exist over the potential environmental impact that port development could cause. HPUK works hard to find ways of making sure that port development minimises the impact on the environment and to agree ways in which development can even enhance the environment. We work closely with organisations such as Natural England, the RSPB and the local planning authorities to find ways of ensuring environmentally acceptable port growth.
Opportunities for coastal shipping
Road-traffic congestion is a major environmental problem that contributes significantly towards CO2 emissions and climate change, maritime transport can make a useful contribution towards the drive to use more environmentally friendly modes of transport. There are considerable efforts being made by policy makers, and from within industry, to reduce the environmental aspects of supply chains. The focus for much of this effort has been to reduce the reliance upon road transport and to make greater use of low-carbon modes, i.e. rail and coastal shipping. The Haven development will greatly enhance opportunities to develop coastal shipping services. The greatest potential for coastal container services is when connecting to deep-sea services on the world’s major trade routes. An increased use of feeder sailings will help relieve the pressure on the country’s busy road network. The combined Haven Ports complex, once developed, will be the only UK hub capable of providing sufficient volumes to support daily short-sea feeder services to the main feeder ports elsewhere in the UK and near continent.
RAIL
All HPUK ports are rail connected and we are committed to promoting the use of rail transport and increasing the share of domestic containers transported by rail. In 2008 the Secretary of State for Transport announced the decision to grant the Felixstowe Branch Line and Ipswich Yard Improvement Order. The works will involve the dualling of a 41/4 mile stretch of the existing single-track branch line between Trimley Station and a point west of Levington Bridge and allows for improvements to provide three 24-wagon sidings within the existing Ipswich marshalling yard, and to undertake some modifications at Westerfield level crossing.
In parallel with these local rail improvements, HPUK is working closely with Network Rail to fund gauge and capacity improvements to the route between Ipswich and Peterborough and the East Coast Main Line and its diversionary routes to South Yorkshire. Network Rail completed the Ipswich to Peterborough gauge enhancement works in 2008.
The capacity enhancement will allow up to 40 freight trains per day to run in each direction by the year 2020, and will help the newly-configured Port of Felixstowe to achieve a rail modal share of 26% - taking 500,000 lorry movements off the road per year.
It is essential that the UK is equipped with the right port facilities to service future trade, and here, at the Port of Felixstowe, we remain committed to achieving this goal.
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